Equine Therapy Research Paper

Horses Change Lives
Each year more than 62,000 children and adults are affected by therapeutic riding through PATH International (PATH International). This includes children that have physical disabilities, children with mental disabilities, adults who have a disability, people who have had a severe injury, people who have difficulty walking (Gilliland 1) and everything in between. During lessons a student usually starts with doing basic things such as leading or grooming and sometimes tacking the horse up, or putting the saddle and reigns on. The child usually then starts riding, allowing their muscles work without much effort on their part and also helps them become more aware of their position on the horse and their actions around a horse. …show more content…
The equine therapy team usually includes a certified instructor, a horse or pony, many volunteers, and the student, plus any family member that may benefit the child during therapy. Many of the instructors started out as volunteers, then after seeing the effect of therapy, became instructors and some have even gotten degrees in special education. The funding for programs offering equine therapy has been cut dramatically in recent years and insurance companies do not cover the therapy which makes it hard and sometimes impossible for the children to receive the therapy they so desperately need. Insurance companies should cover equine therapy, especially because most of the students who are doing equine therapy have already tried numerous other therapies before equine therapy that have not worked. The reason they did not try equine therapy sooner is perhaps because insurance did not cover it or because they …show more content…
It was the year 1995 and Tom was riding his motorcycle in California when he got struck by a drunk driver. Tom was in the hospital for a year after the accident due to a broken back, neck, and a shattered hip. After Tom got out of the hospital he was not recovering how he should have been and was expected to have to use a walker for the rest of his life until he found a farm in South Jersey that offered equine therapy, using riding to help the rider gain strength and confidence in all aspects. When he first started riding he rode a horse named Pumpkin. Pumpkin was only 15 years old but was a gentle horse with a slow gait who always knew when the rider was properly balanced. At first it was hard for Tom to ride Pumpkin because Tom had problems with his balance. As Tom started to get stronger Pumpkin became more confident in his rider and with the help of the owner of the farm, Jill Mansor, and many volunteers, Tom made a remarkable recovery. He became stronger and was able to ride about ninety miles a week on his bicycle, something that after the accident seemed like an onerous task. Equine therapy changed Tom’s life making it possible for him to walk without a walker and live a somewhat normal life, but Tom is not the only one with a story like this, many adults as well as children are affected by equine. One of the only

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